Portland police release driver stop stats after 2-year traffic division hiatus

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Last year, the number of driver stops conducted by the Portland Police Bureau rose for the first time since before the pandemic.

The bureau published its annual report on driver stops on Friday morning. According to the data, officers completed 17,118 stops throughout 2023 — a 26% hike from the previous year and the only increase since 2019, when there were 33,035 total.

PPB attributed the year-over-year rise to the resurgence of the Traffic Division. It began a two-year hiatus in 2021, when the bureau ordered traffic officers back to the precincts to respond to emergency calls. The division returned in mid-2023 after the city experienced a record-high of fatal crashes.

Traffic Division stops accounted for about 37% of stops last year, at 6,429 overall. This is more than double what was recorded in 2022.

Portland police reported that speeding was the most common offense that traffic officers saw, while missing or expired drivers’ licenses were the most common for other officers. Nearly 98% of stops involved drivers who were stopped solely for traffic reasons.

The agency also said that drivers who were perceived as Black or African American were “significantly more likely to be stopped for a non-moving violation by non-traffic personnel” than their counterparts in other racial groups.

However, PPB claimed no racial group was over-represented or under-represented in their driver stops last year. Officials noted an increase in the number of Hispanic and Latino drivers who were stopped from 2019 to 2023, and a decrease in white drivers who were stopped in that same time.

“This trend mirrors the overall demographic patterns in the area, with the Hispanic / Latino resident population growing at a faster rate in the region than White individuals,” the report said.

Additionally, PPB noted that East Precinct officers conducted more stops than those from the Central and North precincts — although the East Precinct’s stops declined from 2022 to 2023.

Police said the Focused Intervention Team was the only non-traffic unit to complete a “sizeable number of stops.” Also known as the Specialized Resources Division, FIT was deployed in early 2022 in response to gun violence throughout Portland.

“I understand how the community may perceive the increase in driver stops in 2023, particularly by our Focused Intervention Team,” Chief Day said in a statement. “I believe there is a correlation between the stops and the work FIT is asked to do to combat gun violence. We will continue to engage with the Focused Intervention Team Community Oversight Group, and other stakeholders, in discussions on how to keep the community safe in the most equitable manner possible.”